Ethiopian Review

ESAT Ethiopian News – 18 June 2013 (Amsterdam)

Zegabi Video — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:30:31 +0000

ESAT Ethiopian News - 18 June 2013 (Amsterdam)

ESAT Ethiopian News – 18 June 2013 (DC)

Zegabi Video — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:30:29 +0000

ESAT Ethiopian News - 18 June 2013 (DC)

የሙስና ምርመራ እየተወሳሰበ ነው

Negash — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:56:09 +0000

መበላላት እንዳይጀመር ስጋት አለ By Goolgule.com June 18, 2013 በጉምሩክና ገቢዎች ባለስልጣን የተጀመረው የጸረ ሙስና ዘመቻ ተከትሎ እየተካሄደ ያለው ምርመራ እየተወሳሰበ መሔዱ ተሰማ። በከፍተኛ የሙስና ወንጀል የተጠረጠሩ ተከሳሾች የሚሰጡት መረጃ መበላላት ያስነሳል የሚል ፍርሃቻ እያስነሳ ነው። “ሰፈር የለየው” የጸረ ሙስና ዘመቻ የፈጠረው ስጋት የሃይል ሚዛን የያዙትንም ስጋት ውስጥ ከትቷል። በኢትዮጵያ ባለፉት 10 ዓመታት ውስጥ የታየው [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

ENTC released an open letter to the Norwegian government

EthiopianReview.com — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:57:29 +0000

ENTC has released an open letter to the Norwegian government. Currently Ethiopian refugees in Norway are in a dire situation related to the country’s policy with the Ethiopian regime. It underscored that Ethiopians are under a brutal dictatorship and Norway should recognize this fact and respond positively to the Ethiopian asylum seekers’ plea. Read the [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Woyanne – Egypt joint press conference canceled after ministerial meeting Monday

Grace — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:41:30 +0000

The Egyptian and Ethiopian foreign ministers met in Addis Ababa on Monday in an attempt to defuse tensions over the huge dam that Ethiopia is constructing on the Blue Nile River.

Ethiopia announced last month that it had started to divert Nile waters as part of the construction of its massive $4.2 billion hydro-electric project dubbed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; this caused a sharp exchange of words between Egypt and Ethiopia.

Egypt fears the dam will mean a diminished share of the Nile, which provides almost all of the desert nation's water needs.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday to meet with his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom.

Dina Mufti, a spokesman for the Ethiopia's foreign ministry, said Ethiopia wants Egypt to understand that the dam is not going to harm Egypt.

But in a possible sign that the talks are not sailing smoothly, the two ministers cancelled a scheduled news conference Monday morning.

"I cannot anticipate the outcome of the meeting . but our wish is that they would understand that the construction of the dam is not going to harm them in any way. We have always sought a win-win cooperation and relationship with Egypt," Dina told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Relations between the nations have quickly grown tense over the last two weeks.

In a televised meeting June 3, Egyptian politicians suggested attacks against Ethiopia to sabotage the dam. A week later, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi warned that "all options are open" to challenge Ethiopia's Nile project.

In response, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn vowed "nothing" and "no one" will stop the dam's construction.

Then, last Thursday, Ethiopia's parliament unanimously ratified a new accord that replaces colonial-era deals that awarded Egypt veto powers over Nile projects.

The tensions are causing international concern. The head of the African Union urged dialogue and cooperation and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned both Morsi and Hailemariam.

Ethiopia downplays the prospect of military confrontation with Egypt. The president said Egypt would not attack unless its leaders "go mad." Ethiopia insists it "will not bow to pressure" by delaying the construction of the dam.

The construction of the Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River began two years ago in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region near Sudan.

The dam which is 22 percent complete is expected to produce 6,000 megawatts, making it Africa's largest hydroelectric power plant. The dam’s reservoir of around 70 billion cubic meters is scheduled to start filling next year.

Cairo University report on the Woyanne Nile dam project

MINILIK SALSAWI — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:30:46 +0000

The Cairo University professors and experts in the faculties of engineering and agriculture have formed a group called “Group of Nile Basin” {GNB} and this group prepared extremely important report about the Ethiopia’s great Renaissance Dam.
The report was published in Arabic on Facebook by Dr. Nader Noor El Din , a member of the GNB and it was republished once again by famous Kolena Khaled Said Page.
Thanks to Mr. Ashraf El Shehat , this report has been translated to English. Without his help I do not know what I could have done. This report represents the Egyptian objections based on science not based on politics or any other thing.
Group of Nile Basin (GNB) at Cairo University to Support Egypt

Introduction
A series of external challenges have suddenly appeared on the surface forming major threats to securing the water supply to Egypt. The sources of these threats are the new plans by the Ethiopian Government to construct four dams on the Blue Nile (Figure 1).

However, the major threat was the sudden unilateral announcement of the Ethiopian Government to divert the course of the Blue Nile marking the actual start of construction of the Great Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) without consultation with the downstream countries; Egypt and Sudan. This act in the eyes of the majority of Egyptians amounts to a flagrant assault on all the basic fundamental laws and the international norms.
Figure 1- Plan of construction four new dams in Ethiopia endangers the only water supply to Egypt.
Considering the major threat to the people of Egypt, a group of professors from the Department of Irrigation and Hydraulics, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University formed a group titled “The Group of the Nile Basin” (GNB). The purpose of the group is to support the effort of Government and the decision makers facing these serious escalating water threats. The scope of GNB shall include analytical studies of the Ethiopian Dams, prepare and implement numerical water models to study the side effects of these dams and collecting all recent scientific studies in this field.
The GNB Activities
The members of the GNB include – among others - four Professors who were involved and still directly involved in the review studies of the Ethiopian Dams and assessing their effects in cooperation with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MERI) since the year 2010. The GNB shall be also working closely with both the National and International Committees involved in studying the consequences of the construction of GERD.
On 16th April 2013, the GNB has conducted two workshops at Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University about the technical, political and legal consequences of constructing the GERD. The attendees included numerous University Professors and Experts in different fields of specializations. Representatives of MERI, some Political Parties, management of Engineering Syndicate in addition to numerous media channels. The purpose of the workshops was to spread the awareness among the people and the Government bodies about the challenges and threats facing the country.
The last few days have witnessed a series of escalating and accelerating steps adding to the tensions including the unilateral decision of Ethiopia to divert the Blue Nile, and the subsequent objections of some of the Egyptian Politicians during an aired meeting with the President. On 13th of June 2013, the Ethiopian Parliament ratified the Nile River Cooperative Framework Agreement opposed by Egypt which ends the veto granted to both Egypt and Sudan on all projects constructed by the upstream countries of the Nile Basin.
Major Comments from the Trio Committee
An international committee – called the Trio Committee – was formed based on the proposal of the Ex. Ethiopian Prime Minister M. Zenawei about two years ago to reduce the tension. The committee concluded its work that took around a year and half and issued its report on the review of the studies presented by the Ethiopian Government. The trio committee consisted of 10 members; 2 from each of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, and four international experts approved by the three countries. The committee has recently concluded its review and issued its report with the following conclusions:

There are no sufficient structural studies.
There is a lack in the hydrological investigations.
There are no environmental impact assessments on the two downstream countries; Egypt and Sudan.

In addition, the Ethiopian Government failed to submit advanced studies reflecting the details and reliability analysis to meet the minimum requirements of the international standards for similar size of dams. Such lack in information and the weakness of the studies formed an obstacle in enabling the Trio Committee to assess the structural safety of the dam and the negative impacts on both Egypt and Sudan.

Areas of Concern to be considered by the Egyptian Government
The GNB draws the attention of the members of the Egyptian Government to the consequences of the Ethiopian Dams which constitute a series of tough social, economical and political nature that are hard to be controlled or to tolerate. Some of these consequences are:

The plan for the 4 dams on the Blue Nile aims at total control of the water in the Blue Nile which is the main supplier to the Nile. As such, this plan shall subsequently include total control of the share of Egypt’s share of the water in the Nile and the possible redundancy or at least dwarfing the role of the High Dam in securing the future supply of water to Egypt.
The current design capacity of GERD of 74 Billion cubic meter will have harsh negative impact on the share of the water reaching to Egypt and also on the production of electricity from the High Dam and the Aswan Dam during the filling period of the lake of GERD and during its operation. This negative impact shall escalate during the drought period wherein the water supplies to both Egypt and Sudan shall conflict with the water needed to produce the electricity from the GERD.
Reduction in the water share of Egypt will result in abandoning huge areas of agricultural lands and scattering millions of families. It would also result in increasing the pollution of the water streams and creating problems in the supply of water for drinking and industry. There will also be problems in river transportation, Nile tourism and threats to the fish farms.
Collapse of GERD will result in catastrophic effects in both Sudan and Egypt. This includes failures of dams, drowning of major towns and villages and exposing millions to the dangers of death and relocation.

Target of Negotiation: Mitigate the Damage
Basically, it should be understood that negotiation with Ethiopia has been drastically delayed. The ideal target for the negotiation from Egypt’s point of view would be to prevent constructing the dam. However, this is no longer a valid option considering the current circumstances. Ethiopia has managed to place the dam as a fact and no longer a theory. As such, the purpose of the negotiation at this stage would be aiming at mitigating the damages.
Considering the above, the following are the suggestions:

Request stopping the construction at once until completing the negotiation and assess the effects through scientific means and agree on them. We need to highlight here that there are other alternatives that can be studied to fulfill similar advantages to Ethiopia without causing major damages to the downstream countries.
The minimum requirement for the Egyptian Government should be the maximum size of the Dam not to exceed 14 billion cubic meter as per the proposal prior to the January 2011 Revolution. This capacity would enable producing 60% of the proposed electricity from GERD and with efficiency exceeding double the efficiency of the huge GERD and with much less cost and much less negative impacts that can be lived with. In addition, the proposed design of 14 cubic meters would fulfill most of the advantages of Sudan from GERD and as such, unifies the points of views of both Egypt and Sudan.
Ethiopia to commit officially not to use the water behind the GERD for the agricultural purposes as previously announced.
Ethiopia to commit for the advance notice for any future projects including their executing procedure in light of the Framework Agreement of the United Nations of 1977 for the common rivers.
The design of the GERD to be reviewed thoroughly by Egyptian Experts after amending the technical dimensions to ensure its structural safety.

The GNB further urges all non-specialized personnel to avoid getting into issuing irresponsible statements that justify the illusionary benefits of the GERD, issuing statements with no real value, or statements that may underestimate the serious side effects using unfounded methods. All the positive and negative impacts are actually a result of intensive, thorough and specialized engineering investigations. Some of these investigations have been carried out be the members of GNB and some are still being conducted. The results at this stage agree broadly with the international studies and to some extent with the Ethiopian studies presented to the International Trio Committee, even though the latter are incomplete.
Main Focus: Downsizing
We would like to warn the Government not to limit the scope of negotiation to secondary issues and ignore the major problem; the size of the dam. The people in Egypt should be aware that focusing the negotiation on the number of years to fill the lake of the dam or the operation policy of the dam including participating with the operation of the dam are of no prime importance. The major threat is the result of the magnified size of the dam. Without reducing the dimensions of the dam itself, the major negative impacts as indicated above are unavoidable.
It is not a secret that throughout the history, Egypt has never been an obstacle preventing the development in the African Nations in general and the countries of the Nile Basin in particular. Egypt has always been supporting the projects of common benefits to the people of the Nile Basin including building Owen Dam for the benefit of both Uganda and Kenya, has shown no objection for building Tecjizy Dam and Tana Plus Tunnel in Ethiopia, and also has not objected the building of Marwe Dam or increasing the height of Roserus Dam in Sudan. All of these projects and others help to improve the revenue of the brothers and sisters of the African Nations. Egypt has always maintained and is willing to keep the Nile as a uniting force for the people of the nations and not a source of disperse or dispute. Egypt is willing to maintain the Nile basin to remain an oasis for peace and not a battlefield.
Members of the GNB

1 Mohamed N. E. Allam – Ex. Minister of Water Resources & Irrigation
2Mohamed S Bazarah – Prof. of Irrigation and Drainage
3Alaa Al-Zawahry – Prof. of Hydraulic and expert of dams and member of the National Committee of GERD.
4 Mohamed S. El-Manadily – Prof. of Hydraulics – Chairman of Department of Irrigation and Hydraulics, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
5 Nader Nour Eddin – Prof. of Water Supplies and Lands, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University
6 Ahmad E. Hasan – Prof. of Hydrology, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
7 Khaled H Hamid, Prof. of Wter Supplies, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University – Member of the Trio Committee
8Ashraf M Ghanim, Prof. of Hydraulics, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
9 Mostafa A Gheith, Pro.f of Irrigation & Drainage, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
10 Mohamed H Algamal, Prof. of Hydraulics, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
11 Hesham B Mohamed, Prof. of Water Supplies, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University. Member of the National Committee to study GERD.
12 Mohame E Abol Hagag, Prof. of Hydraulics, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.

http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/ ... opias.html

አቶ ተስፋዬ ኢሬሣ በሙስና ላይ ምስክር ለመሆን ሲዘጋጁ ተገደሉ

Negash — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:22:00 +0000

ብዙ ሳይታወቅ የተገደሉ ተስፋዬዎች አሉ By Goolgule.com June 17, 2013 በነበራቸው የስራ ሃላፊነት በድብቅ መረጃ ሲያሰባስቡ ቆይተው ለመንግስት ካጋለጡ በኋላ ራሳቸውን ደብቀው የነበሩት አቶ ተስፋዬ ኢሬሣ ምሳ እየተመገቡ ህይወታቸው ማለፉ ተሰማ። አቶ ተስፋዬ ሰኞ ለጸረ ሙስና ኮሚሽን የምስክርነት ቃላቸውን ለመስጠት ከኮሚሽነር አሊ ሱሌማን ጋር ቀጠሮ ይዘው ነበር። በቅርቡ ወደ ፌደራል መንግስት የተዛወሩት የጋምቤላ የቀድሞ ፕሬዚዳንት [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Three Questions for Woyanne supporters

Conformist — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:06:59 +0000

1. Why did Woyane grant Egypt one sq. km. of land to set up a spy base?

http://allafrica.com/stories/201210251470.html

2. Why are Egyptians allowed to assemble and sell transformers to Ethiopia?

"They presented a letter to the Tigray Investment Bureau asking for the region to set up infrastructure on the land as soon as possible and for arrangements to be made for them so that they can manufacture and sell transformers to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo)."

http://addisfortune.net/articles/egypt- ... stry-zone/

3. Why were Egyptians allowed to set up a spy base in Duken in the name of manufacturing electrical cables?

"It will be the second industrial zone in Ethiopiafor Egyptians next to El Sewedy Cables, which was established on October 20, 2009 at 250 million dollar cost. El Sewedy is located in Dukem in the Oromia Regional State. China, India and Turkey have already started to establish such zones in the country."

http://addisfortune.net/articles/egypt- ... stry-zone/

http://www.elsewedyelectric.com/fe/comm ... ?ID=41&g=3

World Cup: Fifa investigation puts Ethiopia progress in doubt

Negash — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:33:22 +0000

Ethiopia’s progress to the final round of African World Cup qualifying is in doubt after Fifa opened disciplinary proceedings against them on Sunday. By BBC June 16, 2013 Earlier in the day, the East Africans beat South Africa 2-1 in Addis Ababa to seemingly reach the African play-offs. However, they now face accusations they fielded [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Some troubling issues regarding Woyanne’s Nile dam project

Solomonn — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:27:43 +0000

I agree with Elias' idea that Woyane must go first and then we can talk about the Nile Dam in a transparent way so that we can reach a politically, technically and economically viable consensus on the dam. There should not be hasty, emotional, and surprise decisions regarding such a giant project. While the points of concern Elias listed are credible, let me share with you you few more troubling issues.

If at all the dam is completed while the TPLF regime is still are in power, they will own the international electric power trade through EFFORT by doing some financial and legal manipulations. This idea is not new for TPLF. In late 1990s when the drafting of the Electric Law was underway in Ethiopia, there were some discussions in the ruling party to categorize the electricity business into two main classes.

The first one was Power Generation. This includes all the major constructions, installations, maintenance and regular operations to produce power from various sources. This involves large investment with risk, and therefore, they said that had to be done by the government as it used to be. The tricky thing is the next category.

The second category was transmission and sales. This category receives the power generated by the government (in Category A above). Then it transmits the power to the users and sells (simply put, it takes the product to the market and sell it). Woyannes said that this particular business should be done by private companies. Woyannes wanted to take out the power transmission and sales from government hands. That means, government only expends money in construction and maintenance of power plants, but is out of the sales. However, the Woyanne-Eritrean war broke out and things did not go as intended. So that idea was not incorporated into the laws.

Nevertheless, there is a possibility that that idea will come back to the minds of the TPLF leaders. In that scenario, you can imagine what will happen. EFFORT or some other new Woyanne Corporation (or Al Amoudi) will take the power transmission and sales business. Let's say it will be EFFORT. That means EFFORT will negotiate the wholesale price with the government (that generates power) and will sell the product any where it likes and at any price it can get. One concern here is that it will not be a fair price negotiation between EFFORT and the government since the government is controlled by TPLF, which controls EFFORT. TPLF can even do some accounting manipulations and one day claim that EFFORT has a share in the dam in the form of loan for the project.

Even without the legal and financial tricks mentioned above, owing to its corrupt and non- transparent nature of the regime, the Woyanne leaders can keep the income from foreign electric trade in foreign banks for themselves. We cannot know if Kenya and Djibouti pay their bills properly. Also, as far as they get the service, foreign customers are not going to tell us how and to whom they pay bills.

In general, the fact that Woyanes wanted the design that produces power only and does not include any other development undertaking shows that their intention is more into power trade business.

I have seen some Ethiopian writers who support the dam project on the basis of long term national interest. Some of those people are imprudent enough to trust that Woyannes will do something good for Ethiopia and argue that “We should support the project as Woyanne will go one day.”

My worry is not that Woyanne will not go. Or it will go like any dictatorial regime. But it will go having put us into a long term binding international agreements that will jeopardize our interests. This is the regime that is leasing our fertile lands to foreigners for unbelievably low price for up to 99 years by pushing out the indigenous population who guarded the territory with their blood and kept the environment fresh and fertile. This is the regime that has done so much harm to our national interests (I can give you more information on the harms it has done if you want). So how on earth Ethiopians trust that Woyanne will genuinely do some thing good for Ethiopia and go one day?

One more point regarding this. The going of Woyanne may not be like the going of Mengistu’s Derg or that of HaileSelassies’s Imperial Government. These two regimes left us intact when they fell. On the contrary, TPLF came to power with a price -– we lost vast territories and ports. They may cost us some more on their way out.

Finally, I have one technical concern. I don’t think sufficient geological investigation has been done. I know parts of the reservoir area were studied for mineral resources in different times. However, there was not any engineering geological study because it is simply a rural area. You don’t do engineering geological study in such areas unless there is a plan to construct some engineering structure. However, the news of the Nile Dam (Project X in its initial name) came as a surprise without prior planning. With regard to environmental study, I will not mention it here because Woyannes never think about it.

አገር በቤተሰብ ስትዘረፍ ኢህአዴግ የት ነበር?

Negash — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:39:59 +0000

አዲስ አበባ የተገተሩት ህንጻዎችስ? By Goolgule.com June 15, 2013 በሙስና ወንጀል ተጠርጥረው በቁጥጥር ስር የዋሉት ባለስልጣናት፣ ባለሃብት፣ ደላሎችና ባለድርጅቶች በልጆቻቸውና በቤተሰቦቻቸው ስም “ዘርፈው አስቀመጡት” የተባለው ንብረታቸውና የባንክ ሂሳባቸው መታገዱ ታወቀ። የዜናውን ይፋ መሆን ተከትሎ አዲስ አበባን ያጥለቀለቋት ህንጻዎችና የንግድ ድርጅቶች ጉዳይ ለምን ዝም ተባሉ የሚል ጥያቄ እየተሰነዘረ ነው። የኢትዮጵያ አትሌቲክስ ፌዴሬሽን ምክትል ፕሬዚዳንት የነበሩት አቶ [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Ethiopian Telecom Corporation or Tele-corruporation?

Alemayehu G. Mariam — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:18:55 +0000

“Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation” (ETC) In August 1998, the World Bank (WB) issued a corruption report on Ethiopia and summarized: In the Government’s view, the following are the major determinants of corruption: a poorly functioning legal and judicial system inconsistent with the 1994 Constitution; an overregulated bureaucracy, emphasising regulation rather than service delivery; a low-paid civil [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Behind the Ethnic Cleansing in Benishangul-Gumuz, western Ethiopia

Fekade Shewakena — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 05:14:10 +0000

The despicable and barbaric action of targeting, evicting and deporting ethnic Amaharas from the Benishangul-Gumuz ethnic state in western Ethiopia is a horrific crime and a crime against humanity by any measure and the outrage of Ethiopians across the world is justified. The stories we hear from the victims themselves and the witnesses who saw it are heart wrenching. Thanks to social media and communication technology, we are hearing from the victims themselves and seeing some of their tragic pictures in real time irrespective of where we live. Thanks to the folks at ESAT TV and Radio for the relentless coverage. I have even heard many supporters of the Ethiopian regime, at least those who live outside of Ethiopia, condemn this barbarism. They should be applauded for that. What kind of sane person cannot be outraged when watching this replay of a Nazi pogrom that targets an ethnic group who were literally frog-marched and, in the words of the victims themselves, told to go to “their country” and “wherever their ancestors were born”? What do you feel when you are told this nonsense in your own country, the country your fathers and forefathers defended and died for? The victimized ethnic Amharas were beaten, violently dragged off their homes and forced to pay for the trucks that packed them inhumanely, transported them out of the Benishangul Gumuz state, and dump them at the edge of another ethnic homeland without anything to help them stay even for a day. The government has not even denied or confirmed reports that one truck loaded with more than sixty people had overturned at night and fifty nine deportees were killed. We heard that women were giving birth in the wilderness and children died of suffocation. What kind of decent human being would watch this unconscionable action of a government do this to its own people, particularly to the most vulnerable and not get outraged?

While we are at it, it is good to know that this is a part of Ethiopia where even Sudanese nationals related to tribes inside Ethiopia freely move in and out as they wish and depending on the season of their comfort. Note also that the Amharas are not a minority in this ethnic region. Based on the 2007 census, Amharas with 21.8% are the second largest ethnic group among six other ethnic groups inhabiting the area. The largest ethnic group, the Berta, is only slightly larger than the Amhara at 25.4%. Important to note is also that the Amhara are allowed only to elect officials to all levels of government but cannot be elected themselves - democracy Ethiopian style. And lo and behold, this is the area where we are building the huge Nile Dam that we are being asked to contribute money for and that Sudan and Egypt hate like the plague.

Only the Ethiopian government media thinks it is hiding this horrific story. Embassies of Ethiopia’s donor countries in Addis Ababa, who tirelessly tell us how they care for civilization and human rights, have also chosen to look the other way. This barbarism is theirs too as they are underwriting it in so many ways. That may partly explain their silence. The only silver lining I found in this whole sad story is that the local, indigenous tribes and ethnic groups have not joined the officials in this crime. Many, we even heard, were sympathetic to the victims. We all need to be proud of them. They have not lost their senses even as their chiefs lost theirs.

But here is the major point. Many Ethiopians seem to miss the root cause of this crime and get outraged at the chaffs. The root cause of this ethnic cleansing and the factor that created it is embedded in the vision set out for Ethiopia by its rulers, the TPLF/EPRDF, as soon as they took power. The officials of the Benishangul-Gumuz state and those in Guraferda, Bench Maji Zone, in the Southern Ethiopia Regional State, were executing a Grand Vision imbedded in the creation of the ethnic homeland – the Killil. That is why some officials seem to be surprised by our surprise and were giving incoherent responses to some media interviews. In a way, you can argue that the local officials who are doing this crime are also victims of the Grand Vision which they were told was a good official policy.

The Benishangul officials somehow failed to learn from their comrades in the Southern Regional State in Guraferda Bench Maji who as we speak are doing the same thing. Had they done it a few victims at a time, the outcry would have been easily muted. In the Guraferda case, they seem to get smarter after doing a massive eviction when they started out last year. Now they are doing it on “a smaller group of victims at a time” basis. They seem to have learnt that the larger their victims the louder the visibility and outrage. Other than that, the local officials are doing their job prescribed in the Grand Vision.

When Meles Zenawi said, “what is Axum to the Wolayita and the Castles of Gondar to the Oromo”, he may have spilled the beans quite early in his tenure, but he was not saying it out of ignorance or saying anything outside of what he believed. The suggestion was to create a psychology among people that anybody born outside of your ethnic homeland does not belong with you - that Ethiopia’s numerous ethnic groups are mechanically joined units that share very little among one another. The Grand Vision stipulates that the best way to divide and rule Ethiopia, and fight age-old and powerful Ethiopian nationalism that stood on their way, was to reduce it to divided units and inward-looking ethnic nationalism. Of course, this was not an innovation by Meles or TPLF. It was first invented by the Italians who twice invaded Ethiopia and, to their unforgettable surprise, found out that Ethiopian nationalism is more powerful to tear down, and that it is hard to divide Ethiopians along their ethnicity and conquer their country. A version of the current ethnic map is first made by Italian strategists and visionaries, if you can call them that.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am all for the rights of ethnic groups to promote their cultures, languages, etc., and believe that any attempt at democratizing Ethiopia should do its best to do away with ethnic inequality in the country. I also know it is a challenge for any government trying to address it. I have monkeyed with Marxism- Leninism when I was a collage kid. When I began to see and understanding my country fully, I found out that any solution for Ethiopia’s ills can only be based by studying and understanding Ethiopia and its complexities and devising indigenous solutions and not by importing European ideas. I believe we can find our own solutions.

Anybody who thinks that the motive behind the manufacturing of the “killil state” by the TPLF/EPRDF was to empower ethnic groups and help them promote their language, culture etc, and do away with ethnic inequality, was apparently taken for a ride or has not paid attention to the philosophy embedded in the formation of ethnic homelands – the killil. The fact is you don’t necessarily need the ethnic killil to make ethnic groups or so called “nations” and “nationalities” and “peoples” equal. In fact, for ethnic groups to be equal citizens in the country, you don’t necessarily have put them inside a geographic enclave. I am a student of geography. I can make you digital maps of ideal federal states that can be optimally used to help avoid inequality between ethnic groups, fight poverty, and strengthen the Ethiopian union, all at the same time, by crunching hundreds of variables on a computer. It is even possible to avoid the current ridiculous hierarchical classification of ethnic groups into “nations”, “nationalities” and “peoples” which inherently perpetuates inequality.

The current practice only exposes the regime that it does not have even a slight commitment to the rights of ethnic groups. I know many have come to this conclusion by looking at what the regime is doing to the Agnuak in Gambella. According to current practice in Ethiopia, you will lose your citizenship rights, if you are a citizen at all, as soon as you move from your designated ethnic homeland and move to another. Think about it. In the country where I currently live, the son of a Kenyan immigrant is the President of the country. When I think of it, it painfully reminds me of how far in the past my beautiful Ethiopia still lives in. My children and grand children can become presidents or senators in the country that gave me refuge. My relatives who live outside of their ethnic homeland in their own country are not allowed to run and hold even a “kebele” office. It is simply unconscionable that this is happening in the twenty first century. Has anybody wondered why individuals of mixed ethnicity, which probably number more than thirty million, are forced to choose between their father’s and mother’s ethnicity when they are issued ID cards? Isn’t this a crime against an entire people?

So please don’t tell me that the ethnic homeland states of Ethiopia are set up with the good intention of helping ethnic groups achieve equality. Ato Meles Zenawi and those who shared his Marxist- Leninist views very well know that there cannot be a sustainable oppression of one group of people by another without an economic basis. The only economic basis with which the ruling classes in Ethiopia in the past, be it Amahara or a multiethnic class, was able to oppress another group for a long period of time was because of unequal land ownership. But the dergue, Mengistu Hailemariam’s government, has done away with that seventeen years before the TPLF took over. The dergue also targeted Amharas and killed many. In the absence of an economic basis to point to as the basis of oppression, TPLF leaders have to manufacture some tool. The only tool they found in their tool box was linguistic differences and the hatred of the “other”. People were encouraged to hate one another and feel their differences with others more than what they share in common. That was why they dismissed Ethiopia’s long recorded history, the very thing that joins us in pride as Ethiopians as “Teret” (folk tale). I see many countries use even mythologies to help them promote their union. In Ethiopia we are asked to despise even the facts on our record.

It appears that this hate is bearing bigger fruits with time and that is exactly what we are seeing in Benishangul Gumuz and Guraferda now. What we are reaping is what has been sawn, and I am afraid this is not going to be the end of it and may not stop at the Amhara. We are hearing that some of the Benishangul deportees are now allowed to return. Most probably this is due to the need to mute the worldwide outcry and appease some donors but not out of the realization of the wrong they did. The damage is already done. I have no idea how this traumatized people would live a normal and secure life even if they are returned. Some who are very traumatized are even saying they will better die on a street anywhere than return back.

If Ato Meles Zenawi was alive today, I am sure he would pull all his word-craft to justify the crime in Benishangul-Gumuz. He already did justify the deportation from Guraferda in front of the “parliament” last year by saying that the Amhara “settlers” were destroying forests and doing unplanned use of land. He didn’t even care his justification run in violation of the constitution. You see, in civilized communities across the world, the constitution is meant to protect the people from government excesses and the power government holds over people. In Ethiopia it is only quoted when there is a need to protect the government from the people and often to intimidate and throw critics and opponents into the kaliti dungeon.

The whole idea and talk about oppression of nations and nationalities, as they call them, was propagated only to patronize the ethnic elites and facilitate their cooperation in the Bantustanization of Ethiopia and reduce the country to units manageable to rule. That was how you could manufacture surrogate ethnic parties. This was the reason the multiethnic Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (EPDM) was forced to become an ethnic Amhara party overnight, though it is obvious that none of it looks like a party created to help Amharas.

Folks, whether you like it or not, this is the vision that will definitely challenge Ethiopia’s survival as a nation in the future. And this is the vision that all of Ethiopia’s officialdom and party cadres are swearing to preserve. Be afraid not only for the Amhara, this poison embedded in the philosophy of our government’s ethnic policy can destroy Ethiopia if left unreformed. This fire will catch more forests. You ain’t seen nothin' yet, as my American friends would say.

Yes, we are witnessing a painful tragedy in progress and I understand why many of you are crying. I myself did shade some tears when listening to the voices of the unfortunate. But don’t let your tears cloud you from seeing the real reason. There is a need for a huge change in Ethiopia.

(I can be reached at fekadeshewakena@yahoo.com)

Questions to those who support the Woyanne Nile dam scam

Elias Kifle — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 04:54:46 +0000

Those Ethiopians who claim that they are supporting Woyanne Nile scam on national interest grounds have set aside the knowledge they have about Woyanne's over 20 years of lies, deceit, secret deals, the give away of Ethiopian land to Sudan and others, mass murders, and all of its anti-Ethiopia activities. I am encouraged that many patriotic Ethiopians are starting to raise questions, but to those who are still putting their trust on the anti-Ethiopia Woyanne to build a dam that will benefit Ethiopia, I have the following questions:

1. What do you know about the secret deals Woyanne signed with Sudan and others regarding Nile? For example, do you know that the dam will be only partially owned by Ethiopia, if at all?

2. Why is the dam being built right at the border with Sudan, in 'Benishangul-Gumuz region', a region that is carved out of Gojjam by Woyanne?

3. Why did Egypt keep quite for the past 2 years and just now has started to voice opposition? And why is Sudan, who historically opposed any dam on the Nile in Ethiopia, is fully supporting Woyanne's Nile scam now?

4. There are many rives in Ethiopia that are not being utilized for irrigation and hydroelectric power. Instead of spending billions of dollars on building a giant dam over Nile, why not utilize those rivers first?

5. What guarantee do you have that Woyanne doesn't invoke Article 39 of its constitution and make Benishangul-Gumuz an independent country to be exploited by "Greater Tigray", Sudan and others? Currently, Gambella and Benishangul are being emptied of their indigenous people and the land is being taken over by Woyanne and foreign investors, according to the Oakland Institute. How could any Ethiopian, who knows Woyanne's history of selling and harming Ethiopian interests and looting the country dry, trusts the same Woyanne to build a dam that benefits Ethiopia? Isn't this mind-boggling foolishness?

6. People from the Amhara ethnic group are particular targets of the Woyanne apartheid regime. Woyanne has been committing genocidal crimes against Ogaden and Gambella people. And while Oromo farmers are suffering, Woyanne is forcing them to sell their cattle and farm products below market prices for export to the Middle East. Most Ethiopians are second class citizens in their own country. Do you really believe that the same brutal regime that is tormenting the people of Ethiopia will build a dam that benefits them?

7. Some argue that the dam will stay after Woyanne is gone? Given the anti-Ethiopia nature of Woyanne and the polices it is currently implementing, how can you be sure that Ethiopia will continue to exist as a country after Woyanne is gone? Why don't we focus on getting rid of the anti-Ethiopia Woyanne junta, instead of giving it a boost to continue to brutalize and torment our people, and put Ethiopia's survival at risk?

I'd appreciate answers to the above questions by those non-Woyannes who are saying that they support the Nile scam.

ENTC Norway chapter Public meeting

EthiopianReview.com — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:10:38 +0000

ENTC Norway chapter is holding a public meeting on June 22 in Oslo, Norway. Read Details here [Source: Ethiopian Review]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Malawi police arrested 27 Ethiopians who fled dictatorship and poverty in their country

Admas — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 07:01:44 +0000

(Nyasa Times) - The Malawi Police Service has arrested 27 Ethiopians after intercepting them in two hired Minibuses that had used uncharted routes to avoid Police checkpoints at Dunduzu and Samikwa in Mzuzu.

Armed Police blocked the vehicles’ entry into the M1 road to Lilongwe at a place called Kadikechi but the Drivers of the two 16 seater Minibuses fled leaving the Ethiopians and the vehicles, Mzuzu Police Station Public Relations Officer Sergeant Maurice Chapola said.

Police have since confiscated the two vehicles registration number MJ6297 and MJ5848 belonging to Mr. J Nyimbiri of Kaporo in Karonga district.

Chapola said the drivers were still at large and Police had launched a massive manhunt.

He said the Police would charge the drivers with Aiding illegal entry contrary to section 34 of the Immigration Act.

In March this year, the Immigration department in Mzuzu arrested 29 Ethiopians who were packed in the chassis of a flatbed Lilongwe bound Truck Trailer following a tip off from patriotic Malawians.

The 30 metric tonnes Freightliner Truck belonging to UJ Trucking of Lilongwe was coming from Songwe border, Karonga district, about 260 Km from Mzuzu and had successfully passed through about four Police checkpoints manned by both armed and unarmed Cops and even some in plain clothes.

ENTC finalizes preparation for July Conference on removing and replacing the dictatorship in Ethiopia

EthiopianReview.com — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:19:57 +0000

ENTC is currently finalizing preparations for the all-inclusive consultative conference on the removal and replacement of the brutal dictatorship regime in Ethiopia. The conference is scheduled from July 1 – 2, and on July 3 and 4, ENTC will hold its annual General Assembly. Click on the links below for more details. Read Press Release [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Israel’s Ethiopian beauty queen dazzles a New York gathering

Admas — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:56:40 +0000

(Haartz) - Israeli beauty queen Yityish “Titi” Aynaw seemed completely at ease as she mingled with the assembled guests on Tuesday evening on the penthouse balcony with breathtaking views of south Manhattan. Dozens of handsome and stylish Jewish twenty to forty somethings hovered around her, trying to get her attention, whisper in her ear, take a photo with her, touch the stardust that seemed to surround her.

Aynaw willingly shakes the outstretched hands, laughs at the offered jokes and attempted one-liners, touches people’s shoulders, even hugs them, when they make a move. She conducts herself with a poise and self-confidence that belies the fact that she is in America for the first time in her life.

“I am not putting on an act,” she says, “I was head of the student council in my high school, I commanded over 90 soldiers in the army. You get a lot of experience, and with the experience comes the self-confidence."

It is this self-confidence – along with her statuesque beauty, her direct, no-nonsense talk, and her extraordinary life story – that makes Aynaw a potential hasbara blockbuster, a potent projection of Israel’s good side, that far outstrips anything that any Israeli politician or diplomat can come up with.

“I know that I project a good image of Israel,” she says, “but I don’t ‘do’ hasbara. I tell my story, what my life has been like, that’s all.”

Aynaw was the guest at a reception of the Young Leadership division of New York’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) – which also organized last week’s Celebrate Israel Parade – and is fundraising for “the Netanya Foundation” which is dedicated to improving her home town. Foundation CEO Shlomi Waroner says that Aynaw has her own pet project, aimed at financing extracurricular activities for “idle and frustrated Ethiopian kids,” as she puts it.

The evening’s host is Ari Ackerman, an Internet entrepreneur who is also the grandson of well-known Israeli financier Meshulam Riklis. Introducing Aynaw, Ackerman quotes a favorite saying of his mother Mona, who passed away a few months ago: “She said that style without substance is silly, and substance without style is boring.” And Aynaw, as everyone realizes, has quite a lot of both.

She speaks decent English, but prefers to tell the story of her amazing voyage in Hebrew, through a volunteer interpreter, and does so with candor and grace: from her poor but often happy childhood in Gondar Province in Ethiopia, her father’s death when she was two, her mother’s when she was ten, her aliyah to Israel at the age of 12 with her grandparents, honors graduate from high school, lieutenant in the IDF Military Police, then, in February, Israel’s first Ethiopian beauty queen. She plans to study international relations at Netanya College next year and to pursue a modeling career, she tells me.

“I could have stayed on the dark side of my life,” she tells her audience, “but I am an optimistic person. I have more than just beauty.”

For the kind of sophisticated up and coming young Jews of New York, Titi – as they call her in embarrassed titters – represents the kind of welcoming and egalitarian Israel that they would like to see, rather than the one they read and hear about more often. The well-heeled, well-educated, well-placed men and women look at Aynaw with what seems to be a mix of awe and even envy: despite the almost inconceivable gap in their socioeconomic status, it is she who is looking tonight like a million dollars.

Aynaw does not speak to this crowd about discrimination and racism directed at her fellow Ethiopians in Israel, but she says that this is because no one asked her. In an earlier meeting with local Israelis, Aynaw elaborates more on the hardships awaiting Ethiopian newcomers, and “moves her audience close to tears,” according to Oren Heiman, a managing partner at the New York branch of the Shiboleth law firm and recently elected chairman of the new formed Moatza Mekomit New York, which aims to unite local expat Israel organizations. “Her achievements inspired pride and emotion.”

“Of course we face racism,” she says, “but other groups do as well. Homosexuals face discrimination, and previous immigrants, such as the Yemenites, faced similar hurdles. But I’m not accusing anyone. Israel is the only country that accepts such a disparate collection of communities. I’m sure we’ll find our place in the end.”
And just so there aren’t any misunderstandings, she adds: “Of course I love Israel. It is my home.”

Aynaw is photographed alongside African-American Fox News presenter Harris Faulkner, and Martin Luther King was the man she chose to list as “her most admired personality” in the pre-beauty pageant questionnaire that she filled out. So I ask her whether she feels that in New York her skin color carries extra resonance. At first she peers at me to detect a slight or insult, but then tells me gushingly of her “amazing” experience at the Bethel Gospel Church in Harlem, to which Israeli photographer Shahar Azran took her.

“They brought me up to the pulpit,” she says, “and people touched me and blessed me and prayed for my success in the upcoming Miss Universe contest. They were so kind and pleasant. I didn’t believe it was happening to me. I was so happy to be surrounded by so many people who look like me.”

Then she says that she went to Harlem because she had “seen it in the movies," but she is happy that “black people by now are completely integrated into American society.” I only made a faint effort to tell her that that dream of Martin Luther King hasn’t really come true yet, fifty years on.

በኩራት ተሞልቼ ሁለንተናዬ ሰማያዊ

Alemayehu G. Mariam — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:37:49 +0000

ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ‹‹በየቀኑ በየቀኑ ሰማያዊዎች አሉኝ›› (ሰማያዊ ወይም “ብሉስ” አፍሮ አሜሪካውያን የሚታወቁበትና ይዘውት የተሰደዱት የንጉርጉሮ ባህላዊ ሙዚቃቸው ነው) አለ ዘማሪው ቢቢ ኪነግ በሚወዳት ክራር “ሉሲል” ላይ፡፡ እኔም በየቀኑ በየቀኑ ላለፉት ስምንት ዓመታት የ‹‹193/763 ሰማያዊዎች›› ነበረኝ:: “አስከ 25ኛው ሰአት ድረስ አላቋርጥም ምክኛቱም አሁን የምኖረው በሰማያዊ ተስፋ ላይ ነውና” አለ ዘማሪው ኤሪክ ክላፕተንም!፡፡እኔም [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

ESAT Ethiopian News – 13 June 2013 (Amsterdam)

Zegabi Video — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:14:36 +0000

ESAT Ethiopian News - 13 June 2013 (Amsterdam)

ESAT Ethiopian News – 13 June 2013 (DC)

Zegabi Video — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:14:34 +0000

ESAT Ethiopian News - 13 June 2013 (DC)

Congressional Hearing on Ethiopia; Berhanu Nega Invited as Witness

Negash — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:50:22 +0000

SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING NOTICE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6128 Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Chairman TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, to be [...]

[Source: Ethiopian Review]

Ethiopian woman in UAE tortured and starved to death

Anti-Slavery — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:36:21 +0000

While Goba is talking making fun of Arab slavery, our sisters are having horrible life, if one can call it life, in the Arab world. Goba, go make fun. But this is a real story of real people, not like the ones you fabricate. ur time will come!!

Couple accused of torturing and starving maid to death

Marie Nammour

A woman allegedly tortured her two housemaids, beat them regularly and denied them food and medical treatment, which later resulted in the death of one of them, a court heard.
The victim weighed just 37kg at the time of her death and a friend of the woman, who testified against her, said that the suspect tried to bribe one maid with money so she would not talk to the police.

The 45-year-old Emirati, R.A., who works as a public relations officer, allegedly subjected her Ethiopian and Filipina maids to daily beatings as well as physical and mental torture, with both maids sustaining severe injuries, leading to infection because of not providing medical treatment. This, along with other factors, led to the Ethiopian maid’s death.

R.A’s husband, a 42-year-old policeman, A.A., allegedly watched as his wife physically abused the maids and deprived them of their freedom by locking them up in the bathroom. He tightly secured his villa in Nad Al Hamar area so the two maids could not escape.

The couple denied in the Court of First Instance charges of illegal imprisonment, deprivation of freedom with the use of force, physical and mental torture, leading to death, and causing bodily harm. However, the Public Prosecution is seeking life imprisonment for the duo.

The Filipina maid, 29, who survived the torture, which lasted for a couple of months, told the prosecutor that her employer used to beat her and deny her food. She also forced her to drink a mix of detergents when she was not satisfied with her cleaning duties.

The maid said that R.A. would threaten her with jail and intimidate her by saying that her and her husband had respectable jobs and connections with the police and immigration.

On several occasions, the two maids were brought into the villa and locked in a bathroom, where R.A. had a camera fixed to the wall so she could watch them while she was away from the villa.

She would also threaten to circulate nude pictures of them which she took after forcing them to take their clothes off.

The Filipina also claimed that R.A. would assault them and bang their heads against the wall while cleaning the house. R.A. fed the deceased only a piece of onion, sugar and salt for five days.

After losing consciousness, due to the constant beatings and malnutrition, the couple were forced to feed the victim better.

When the victim’s injuries became infected, R.A. refused to take her to a hospital as she was afraid she might be held accountable for the abuse.

A maid of the employer’s friend testified to the beatings and said that she herself was subjected to abuse by R.A. She claimed the latter threw detergent on her face and forced her to sniff her underwear to humiliate her as she laughed.

R.A.’s Emirati friend, a 35-year-old manager, testified that she saw R.A. beating the victim with a stick and that the latter was often bruised. She said that she heard R.A., on January 16, beg the maid not to speak to the police and offered her money and anything she wanted.

A forensic expert said the victim weighed only 37kg when she died. Torture, malnutrition and negligence of injuries all contributed to her death. Her blood sample contained traces of a pesticide.

Ethiopian embassy officials in Washington DC are being investigated by the IRS and SEC

Elias Kifle — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:15:48 +0000

The United States Internal Revenue Service and Security & Exchange Commission have launched an investigation of the Woyanne diplomats who have been selling bonds illegally in the U.S. Since the investigation is continuing, I could not get further ...

ESAT Ethiopian News – 11 June 2013 (Amsterdam)

Zegabi Video — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:05:53 +0000

ESAT Ethiopian News - 11 June 2013 (Amsterdam)